CUMC Half Moon Bay - Programs and Activities

		Ministries, Programs, Activities The ministries and programs of Community Methodist change almost weekly. So it's impossible to provide an absolutely up-to-date list of all that our church family is doing. But this listing will provide some feel for the range of ministries of the church.

	Getting Information The two best sources of information about happenings at CUMC are the announcements in the Sunday bulletin and the "Communiqué," the church's monthly newsletter. (If you are not currently receiving the "Communiqué" mailed to your home, please let us know so that we can add you to the mailing list.)


	Also, please feel free to call the church office (650.726.4621) to inquire about any of the church's programs or ministries.


	Worship Every weekend the church family worships together. This is the very heart of our life together as a church family. Worship IS what we do.

	Sunday, 8:00 a.m.--a half-hour service of prayer and meditation. This is a time for personal reflection and prayer. The pastor reads the Bible reading for the day and may make a very brief comment to focus reflection. The Lord's Supper or Holy Communion is available every Sunday during this service. Sunday 8:30 a.m.--a 45-minute worship service.

Sunday, 10:00 a.m.--an hour-and-fifteen-minute "family service." Children are present for beginning of the service, and the pastor then spends a few moments with the children before they go to Sunday School. The service is highlighted by music from one of the church’s choirs or musical ensembles, as well as hymns, Bible readings, and a sermon from our minister.

CoffeeHour -- Worship is followed by a “social time” when we have the opportunity to greet one another and become better acquainted.

Communion or the "Lord's Supper" is celebrated about once a month and on other special occasions through the year. Our communion service is "open" which means that all who are open to receiving and living by the love of God are welcome to receive communion.

Joys and Concerns is a central part of our worship each Sunday. This is the time during worship when we share the realities of our lives with each other. This both keeps us aware of each other and keeps our worship in touch with real life struggles.


	The Church Year. While we are not a "liturgical" or highly ceremonial church, we do observe the major festivals of the church year, such as Christmas, Lent, Holy Week and Easter. Often our worship is organized around the seasons of the church year: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy week, Easter, and Pentecost. At other times our worship will take a thematic approach. The Lectionary--—”The New Common Lectionary” is a list of readings from the Bible specified for each Sunday of the church—typically, one from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), one from the New Testament letters (Epistles) and one from the New Testament Gospels. The lectionary readings for the following Sunday are printed in the bulletin, for use during the week for your own meditation and devotions and to prepare yourself for Sunday worship.




		Choir and Music We have a vibrant and growing music program here at CUMC. We currently have three adult choirs, our Chancel Choir, the Women’s Choir and our new Men’s Choir. There are also three Youth Choirs. In addition, if you play an instrument, we have our Instruments of Joy musical group. All of our groups are open to all who want to participate and are willing to invest the time in rehearsal and Sunday services. Our choirs generally take turns participating in our 10:00 worship service. Sunday School Our educational ministry with children and youth is central to our church’s life. Currently Sunday School classes are offered each Sunday to all children through 8th grade during our 10:00 service. Other educational events for children include a weeklong Vacation Bible School in the summertime and special field trips.


	Children's Ministry Our Children's Ministry Team organizes events and activities for children to supplement our Sunday School program. For example, “Children's Ministry” has sponsored outings to Elkus Ranch and sleepovers at Montara Lighthouse, game nights for families, Easter egg hunts, Christmas caroling parties.


	CAMP ("Revival in the Redwoods") Each summer for almost twenty years, our church has provided a weeklong camp for children third grade through eighth grade. During the last couple of years there have been more than 100 people at our camp—counting kids, youth counselors, and adults. We develop our own curriculum, prepare our own food, sleep in tents and have a wonderful time in the redwoods at Memorial Park near Pescadero. Our camp has also provided significant outreach to children beyond our church family.

	Malama – Care Team Our “Malama” is a group of people who provide direct assistance and support to others in the church family when there is a special need – like meals after a hospital stay, emergency childcare, rides to the doctor, and more. The Malama group also supports a Prayer Chain – which informs those on the chain about prayer requests and needs.

Youth Ministry

MYF (“Methodist Youth Fellowship”). We have two youth fellowship groups: for junior high (grades 6-8) and for senior high. MYF groups are primarily “fellowship groups,” designed for young people to experience the love and faith of the church through participation in community—rather than through study. In addition to recreation, these groups include discussion, sharing and service to others.

Confirmation Class is an opportunity for youth 8th grade through senior high to learn more about faith and the church and to decide whether they want officially to become adult members of the church. Confirmation class is usually offered in the Spring.

Mission Projects—each of the past several summers, CUMC youth have participated in mission projects sponsored by Sierra Service Project. Our youth have helped lead a vacation Bible school for Native American children in Round Valley in northern California, and this past summer our teens did home repairs on Native American reservations in northern California under the auspices of Sierra Service Project.


	Adult Education Personal, spiritual growth has been distinctive of Methodists since our beginnings. And our congregation has placed significant emphasis on growth opportunities. We offer a variety of Bible studies each week, and we have thematic short-term classes, workshops and retreats to give people an opportunity to work intentionally on their spiritual lives.

Bible Studies & Covenant Groups

Covenant groups are small groups of six to eight people who meet weekly to support each other and to grow spiritually. The groups make a covenant or agreement to begin with a commitment of six weeks. Our pastor prepares a discussion guide for these groups each week, which provides a way for our covenant groups to explore and share their faith with one another as well as to come to worship, having already thought about the topics to be addressed in the sermon. Another of our Bible studies is “Mom and Me”—a Bible study for moms with young children. Moms and their little ones meet together on Monday mornings for study and fellowship.


	UMW ("United Methodist Women") UMW is a national organization of United Methodist women, with local groups in most UM churches. The purpose of UMW is to promote “missions”—outreach to people in need at home and throughout the world. UMW also provides emotional and spiritual support for its members. All women are welcome.




	Outreach Ministries Community Methodist has historically been a church that actively cared for people outside the church family. This tradition continues! Some of the ways we have ministered to others: providing food and volunteering time for Thanksgiving Dinner at the Opportunity Center, monthly food drives, sponsoring a number of families and single persons each year through the Christmas Bureau’s Adopt-a-Family program, participating as one of the hosts for the community-wide La Posada celebration in the days leading up to Christmas, and The Backpack Giveaway—for several years now our congregation has collected good-condition used and new backpacks and school supplies for children in need on the Coastside. Other Outreach ministries include:


	GEMS GEMS is a social group for persons 50 & older. The group meets on the fourth Monday of each month for dinner, fellowship and a program.

“World Service” and other apportionments—a portion of the money we contribute to the larger United Methodist church provides funding for an uncountable number of ministries and projects in the United States and all around the world.

Family Council of HMB—we have a special relationship with Family Council, the parent agency of the Half Moon Bay Children's Center, which has operated in our church facility five days per week for well over a decade.

Boy Scouts—the church has sponsored a troop for decades. This troop has produced an extraordinary number of Eagle Scouts.

Building Use— Building Use – A number of community, civic, and self-help groups use our church facilities. These include the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Rotary, and several 12-step self-help groups. Our facilities have also hosted numerous concerts by the Half Moon Bay Community Orchestra (which was originally founded by CUMC in 1983), as well as other musical groups, choirs, films and solo performers.